What Are You Watching?

[Mustang]

Jujutsu Kaisen
Well, only season 1 so far. So I basically binged all of season 1 anyway, and well, for me it's creeping into top 10 category. Admittedly I haven't watched much since what, 2011-ish. On and off with Demon Slayer, My Hero, One Piece, and I think Attack on Titan (but I gave up on that). But still, JJK was the one that really hooked me. Loved the fights. Animation is top notch. I don't hate any of the characters. This gives me Psyren vibes to be honest, when I first read that series.

Anyway, I'll probably get back into MHA and DS for sure. One-Punch Man was something I couldn't get into but I'll give it another shot. There was 2 more. Fire something. I think they are firefighters or something like that with fire powers. The other one, Mob Psycho 100 or something like that.

[Mustang]

So I've been watching both Yu-Gi-Oh ArcV and V-rains, mostly because I've been trying to learn how to use both pendulums and links on top of thinking about going to Master Duel.

Arc-V while interesting, is terrible. Don't get me wrong, the underlying tone has always been dark, ever since the original Duel Monsters, but I wasn't expecting either show to lean into that theme as heavy as they are, for a show for kids (I guess they know their audience well enough). What makes Arc-V interesting to me is the separate dimensions approach. What kills the show for me is the main character and action spells. The main character is basically Jaden but worst, and that's saying a lot since I don't like him or GX at all either (GX downfall was unfortunate because following behind Duel Monsters was/is a hard feat, especially with that kind of character). The constant pep-talk this guy needs, especially towards the end is ridiculous. I wasn't really trying to enjoy the series, but the decks in this series were very interesting (pendulum magicians are dead in legacy of the duelist - link evolution, but the rest of the decks are alive and kicking, but too damn complicated). The crazy part is, I have no problems with anything else outside of the main character and the action cards. Other characters are fine and/or whatever. The action cards just sound like they were made up for plot armor and dragging out unnecessary duels, especially when I think only 4 of them were repeatedly used. Anyway, great deck ideas. Terrible show.

Vrains on the other hand is a complete 180. I haven't enjoyed Yu-Gi-Oh series since 5D's. Ironically enough, I only like Duel Monsters, 5D's and now Vrains (all main protagonists just suits me). If people were to say they found the main character boring, I won't argue. If people want to say the show is boring. Totally understand because I'm an oddball that likes edgelords and serious people. The happy-go-lucky is just annoying for me. I've always been that way. Anyway, that dark tone, yeah I was surprised to see that it was as clear and blatant here. Decks and duels, combo's galore and all of it still confuses me lol. Code Talkers in particular I find very fascinating, but like pendulums and D/D/D's, are so damn complicated. The duels themselves, everyone is strategizing and I love it. The back and forth, it's like the target audience is for those that like the back and forth competition in Yu-Gi-Oh.

All of this has been for the nephew btw. He's heavy into it. He took my synchron deck and made it his own and while I'm trying not to hard counter (there's no fun in hard countering), I will admit I am having a hard time coming up with my own deck(s) to compete against it lol. And I've been out of the game for so long, a lot of these decks I just don't know how to play (especially the combo decks, D/D/D's etc)

Anyway, I may try xyz Yu-Gi-Oh some day, but I remember that main character annoyed me too so we'll see.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I finished watching Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction. Awkward title aside, I was recommended the show because compared to other seasonal anime a few months ago, it seemed like it had things I liked. It's by the Oyasumi Punpun guy, it has sonic screwdrivers, it's about the combination of malaise and endurance of humanity in the face of national tragedies, and it has tiny aliens dressed like scuba divers. And yeah, I had fun. I didn't love it because this show takes its sweet time before the story actually hits, but it feels like it's been a while since we've had an anime like this airing. In a sea of isekais, villainess shows, high school romcoms, and nostalgia reboots/sequels (I'm really caught off guard by how shiny the new Ranma 1/2 looks), it's important to treasure the weirder, more high-concept stuff.

[Foggle]

Dededede seems great! Inio Asano's a very good writer, but I don't know too much about this one. When I start watching more anime again I'll give it a try. I also want to watch the somewhat similarly-titled Dandadan, and I've definitely gotten the two confused on multiple occasions.

We've been watching a lot of Lupin III stuff lately. They're definitely still my comfort characters. I didn't care for the dubs when I was younger, but now I realize how amazing they are! The Pioneer dub of Part 2 and Mystery of Mamo is unmatched, and while I dislike the name mispronunciations, the classic Funimation dub is great too. That series really goes to some crazy places, and I'm sad they never got to air more than the first 26 episodes on [adult swim] or dub the second half.

[Avaitor]

I'm still not a fan of the modern day references the early dub used (look me in the eye and tell me that you think this era's Fujiko should know what The Simpsons is), but the cast is genuinely quite good. I'm glad that they've mostly stuck around over the years and been in more faithful translation.

I'd love to get the DVDs of at least the second series, but they seem pretty pricey...

[Foggle]

I'm still not a fan of the modern day references the early dub used (look me in the eye and tell me that you think this era's Fujiko should know what The Simpsons is), but the cast is genuinely quite good. I'm glad that they've mostly stuck around over the years and been in more faithful translation.

I'd love to get the DVDs of at least the second series, but they seem pretty pricey...

I think the CR store prices of Discotek's releases are pretty reasonable considering the quality/quantity (155 episodes which look and sound WAY better than the streaming versions, Geneon DVDs, and poorly upscaled JP BDs), but it's still a hefty chunk of change I can understand not wanting to drop, especially since only the first half was dubbed. The pop culture references are definitely weird, but they calm down after the first dozen episodes or so. The cast's performances and localization's comedic writing are exceptional otherwise imo.

[Mustang]

Good ol Roku TV coming through again.

Hunter x Hunter
Like One Piece, I've been off and on with this, but this Chimera Arc has been fascinating. First, let me say that I have to remind myself that this is Madhouse and it's 2011 (or somewhere in that time frame), and my god, while I like Madhouse's art, I cannot stand their animation when it come to the fighting. Seeing these characters abilities have been far more interesting/entertaining than the fights themselves. It's not bad by any means, but Madhouse back then like to do these weird effects that kills some of my excitement (hard to explain, but slowdowns is apart of it, or the way they slow it down I just don't like it) Alright, that's off my chest. The development with a lot of these characters are on that top tier level. Gungrave, is one I'd usually say that has some of the best character development, and this arc has been on that level for me. And then I love when people think and then I love seeing people think when using their abilities to outdo one another. I do owe this series a full binge watch because I still haven't seen the 2 arcs before this one.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Okay, new season. Same rules.

Zenshu's feels kinda rich, a MAPPA anime all about an overworked animator getting isekai'd. Liked it though.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated! is yet another Villainess anime, this time about some guy's dad getting reincarnated into being a girl at a magic school. I'm not quite sure how this genre went from new to overplayed in only a few years. Is it just the girl version of modern isekai or is there something else there? I remember reading an article suggesting it was due to the relatively meager amount of shojo anime in the last few years that led hungry fans to flock to villainess shows.

Speaking of shojo anime, I should really finish the first season of Apothecary Diaries since season 2 just came out.

Sakamoto Days is fun, but I raised an eyebrow at the dub cast. Half of them are live-action actors who haven't done any voice acting before ever like the guy who plays Zuko in live-action Avatar, the guy who plays Jaime Reyes in the Blue Beetle movie, a bunch of wrestlers. So I watched that out of curiosity, and there's a terminal case of "confused live-action actor doesn't know how to act in a VO booth" syndrome there. I don't know why Netflix paid extra to get these guys over just hiring Bang Zoom actors as usual, or hiring union voice actors. Who's gonna go "I'm gonna watch Sakamoto Days because Netflix Zuko is in it!"?

Ameku MD is all right, but everyone I see watching it is just making House jokes, and instead of talking about the show, they're just referencing how weird House got. Like that time Chase kissed a little girl. What the fuck was that about?

Momentary Lily is another show where I ask why Studio Gohands keeps getting work. They're an anime studio where the animation is a 10 but literally everything else including the direction and cinematography is a 0. I once compared their animation to if you taped an HD camera on a squirrel and let it record shit for a day. In the first episode, they fight a giant monster for like 10 minutes, give exposition on why giant monsters are attacking their city, and then spend the next 10 minutes doing a cooking show as if none of the first half happened.

The most interesting thing about Ubel Blatt is that the title sounds like "Bubble Butt".